Surrey Muse program is put together twice a year, in Nov/Dec for January-June session, and in May/June for July-November session. Dates are blind-picked by participants through an invitation. Participants are invited from a recommendations list that stays open throughout the year. To recommend authors, poets and performers to be featured at Surrey Muse, use the email address at the bottom of this post or try the online recommendations form

Saroop Soofi is a visual artist, researcher and an art educationist born in Lahore, Pakistan. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows in Canada and Pakistan, and she has received awards and distinctions for it. Saroop completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors (sculpture) from Lahore’s National College of Arts (NCA) in 2009. She has done research on identity politics, feminist and postcolonial theory, and she has graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) on the unceded Musqueam territory with a MFA in 2017. She has five years of experience teaching Visual Arts, Art History and Contemporary Sculpture at UBC, NCA and Kinnard College for women in Lahore. Saroop has also worked as a lead actor in long plays for A Plus Television Channel, and with Madeeha Gohar at Ajoka Theatre in Pakistan. Saroop carries out her art practice from her studio in Burnaby, and she works part time for Dhahan Prize for Punjabi literature.

Mandeep Wirk is a writer and social activist who also works as a visual artist, photographer and educator. Her writings have appeared in various publications in Lowermainland including the new anthology ‘Sustenance: Writers from BC and Beyond on the Subject of Food‘. The founder of Facebook Page: Art and Culture in Surrey, Mandeep feels that it is important for her to voice her thoughts, ideas, and feelings to challenge social issues such as racism to help foster human rights for everyone including women. She says: ‘By sharing our views with each other, hopefully we can arrive at some solutions to make this a better world for everyone to thrive in.‘ Mandeep was born in Kenya and as a child she immigrated with her family to England. Then in 1972, the year that multiculturalism became official policy in Canada and the doors of immigration opened up to people of color, she immigrated again with her family settling in British Columbia. At this time, Mandeep is working on a book of non-fiction which is ‘a memoir of sorts’, and she is busy creating a set of new paintings.

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If you have featured at Surrey Muse but don't see your link in our 'Featured' links above, send us an email with your name and link at 'surrey.muse@gmail.com' for rapid response.
If you are a feature who is also part of Surrey Muse volunteers, find your link below.

Thoughts

'It was a wonderful evening: at least two more lonesome Surrey writers have found a new home, and a few more of us outlanders a place to return to.

I really appreciate the careful structure of the event, alternating the visiting time with times of performance, so that all needs are met with decorum-- all performers have an attentive audience, everyone can eat and speak and connect, and community develops almost effortlessly. The blog and the truly awesome posters a part of the whole-- really well organized and top-notch!

My thanks for all the forethought and talent that went into the planning, as well as the way it all came together last night-- thank you to our mc for keeping us rolling along.